(CNN) - After months of talking about each other and their policies, the world finally gets to see Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney go toe-to-toe on the same stage in a series of three televised debates ahead of the U.S. election.

Unlike other countries, such as the United Kingdom, where the prime minister must defend his policies under televised duress from the opposition nearly every week, face-to-face showdowns between the two men fighting for the White House only happen every four years.